What the NikeSkims launch says about the state of women’s activewear

NikeSkims arrives at a turning point for the women’s category, which for years has been dominated by the likes of Nike, Adidas and Lululemon. The debut NikeSkims collection is all about skin-tight sets and the female form, highlighting the usage of Nike’s innovative fabrics that offer that sculpted Skims look. For the past few years, workout wear and athleisure have increasingly overlapped as people built loungewear-heavy wardrobes during the pandemic. As such, brands like Lululemon and Vuori were able to capitalize on the trend by offering versatile designs that go from the gym to the street. But more recently, sales have slowed down for companies like Lululemon and Nike as tariffs have hit and customers have cut back. At the same time, shoppers are looking for different styles as workout trends have changed.

The new collab brand places major emphasis on physical performance, as evident by athlete ambassadors like Serena Williams and Jordan Chiles, among others. The launch campaign also includes a new film, titled “Bodies at Work,” starring 50 athletes that include Sha’Carri Richardson and Chloe Kim. In many of the campaign’s creatives and influencer posts, the models are seen performing strength exercises like lifting dumbbells or practicing Pilates. 

Jessica Ramirez, the co-founder and managing director of the Consumer Collective, said there is a big move toward strength training among women, and brands are trying to design accordingly. “We’ve seen [workout goals] going from becoming very skinny to being toned and having muscles without it taking away from femininity,” she said. 

The NikeSkims designs and launch campaign reflect this trend. One of the collection’s pieces, the Footsie Grip Legging, features built-in grip socks for use on reformer Pilates. These details show the brand wants its designs to be taken seriously as workout pieces, and not only for lounging and or running errands.

But will NikeSkims find a market in an already-crowded space? Ramirez thinks it’s possible. She said that despite the perception of the category’s saturation, there is some room for innovation. The pricing, in line with most Nike and Lululemon ranges, can also make NikeSkims an appealing new brand to try. Most of the sports bras, for example, range from $48-$68. Leggings go from $84-$128, which Ramirez said is on par with Lululemon and Nike women’s offerings.

NikeSkims’s skin-tight silhouettes arrive as athleticwear style preferences evolve. There are even theories that a growing aversion to figure-hugging leggings is hurting Lululemon, which helped popularize the look. However, Ramirez suspects that the baggy workout gear trend likely skews younger and is not representative of the overall consumer base. 

“But I am struck by how lagging the styles are,” Ramirez said, referencing NikeSkims’s minimalist colors and skin-tight designs, which have dominated athleisure for years. But it makes sense, she said, given that, until now, Skims has done well with its signature Kardashian-inspired form-fitting aesthetic; Skims started as a shapewear brand and has since grown into other apparel categories. NikeSkims does offer a bit of the looser Gen-Z-friendly looks. Some of the loungewear-geared items in the collections are baggier styles, like loose basketball shorts-inspired bottoms and tear-away pants.

Most importantly, Ramirez said Nike’s technology is already trusted in the athleticwear space, which helps lend this new brand credibility. The partnership comes amid Nike’s large-scale turnaround plan and Skims looking for more growth prospects ahead of its delayed IPO.

At the very least, what NikeSkims does have on its side is name recognition.  

As of August 2025, brand tracking platform Tracksuit’s data showed Nike’s awareness sits at 92%, while Skims’s awareness is at 44%. For context, the competitor average is about 39%. 

Mikayla Hopkins, head of marketing at Tracksuit, said the data among the women’s athleisure category shows that NikeSkims is entering the market with a unique and powerful combination. 

“[It blends] Nike’s scale and consumer trust layered with Skims’s celebrity influence and trend-driven positioning,” Hopkins said. “That mix of credibility and buzz positions the brand uniquely and is likely to capture consumer attention in a way that sets it apart from competitors like Adidas, Lululemon and Alo.” 

As weightlifting and strength exercise continue to gain interest, women are looking for workout clothes that provide both performance and style. If NikeSkims is able to thread that needle, the brand will stand to take share away from the other players. 

With time, Ramirez said the brand could offer more silhouettes and fabrics as it adapts to its customers’ needs. “This is the first go around, so let’s see how this does,” she said. At the end of the day, she said, there is something to be said about wanting to “look cute” in a stylish outfit at the gym or in a workout class. “It’s like ‘Why do I have to look frumpy?’”